Re: Others could benefit Always interesting to see the squabbles between the NAB folks and everyone else trying to get a toe into the business. Whether there will ever be a peaceful solution is up in the air. I'm not so sure of their claim the move will "ultimately cause harm to consumers and their reliance on localism." Other than local news an hour or so daily, what's really local in broadcast tv today?

But, yes, OTA reception is an issue for many. My fortunes shifted (unfavorably) with the digital transition as the ATSC HD that was squatting on UHF moved to VHF. Or maybe it's the other way around. The end result was worse receptivity and with HD, vs NTSC, it's that "digital cliff" -- there's no intermediate grainy picture, you get reception or you don't. At my current location, I'd need at least an attic antenna if not rooftop for complete coverage... along with rewiring my house to distribute that signal. No receptivity considerations was Aereo's killer feature.

TiVo and Channel Master are doing interesting things in the way they merge OTA and OTT content. The former with OnePass and the latter with Linear Channels. But there's still room for better unification... irrespective of whether it's online-only like Apple is supposedly trying to do, or by merging OTA via antenna like DISH (in some cases).

Re: Others could benefit Aren't you the same guy who's had so much trouble getting OTA signals at your house?! OTOH, I agree we should be seeing more comingling of OTA and premium TV. You tried out Channel Master DVR+ yet?

Adjusting retransmission criteria for local broadcasts could also facilitate newer players in this space. For example, Sony's over-the-top streaming service is rolling out piecemeal (geographically) largely due to needing to strike deals in every market. Further, the rumored Apple TV video service that is now rumored delayed is rumored to be partially stymied by retransmission and licensing. What I don't get is why these folks don't just stick ATSC OTA tuners in their boxes and commingle the antenna content with the 'cable" content. Isn't that how DISH handles the locals in some markets? This obviously wouldn't apply to out of market stuff and perhaps there are other factors at play that I'm just not aware of.